Feminist and labour movements in HK: critical and co-constructive

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Feminist and labour movements in HK critical and
co-constructive
Womens Empower, Gender Equality and Labour
Rights Transforming the Terrain

• Sally Choi
• Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions
• 2013-7-30, San Paulo

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About myself
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outline

• The story of a founder, Ms. Yim of working women
  association
• Insights Critical voices from womens leaders
  and the movement
• The recent campaign against sexual violence at
  workplace
• Insights cooperation between feminist movement
  and the trade union.
• Transforming the terrains internal and external
  support individual and collective leadership

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YIM YUET LIN

• 1989 found Hong Kong Women Workers Association
  (HKWWA)1st organisation for the rights of women
  worker

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• A book project for the 15th anniversary of HKWWA
• Factory, Kitchen and Refuse Room 15 years of
  Women Workers Movement in HK

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Unions development Before 1970s

• Before the 1970s,
• unions in HK
• pro-Chinese Community Party (CCP) unions (the
  leftist),
• pro-Kuomintang unions (the ruling party of Taiwan
  at the time, also known as the rightist unions)
• some unions with a neutral background (such as
  the civil servants unions).

Yim was an electronic factory worker
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Rise of social movement in 1980s

• 1974 a church based organisation HK Christian
  Industrial Committee (HKCIC) started intervening
  labour disputes
• 1984, HKCIC-Trade union education center
• 1984, Association for the Advancement of Feminism
  (AAF) set up

• Yim joined HKCIC and AAF study groups

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Conflicts on maternity leave
Cannot unit all the workers

• Yim left HKCIC

Not the top priority for advocacy among alliance
of labour activists
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1982

• Amendment on Employment Ordinance in HK
• 2/3 paid for 10 weeks maternity leave

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Mid 1980s
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HKWWA 1989--
Concerning the rights of causal workers which are
majority women workers
Mothers Day action Caring support and subsidies
for workers
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Yim-Women worker leader

• - strong fighter
• - transforming the labour rights advocacy
• - transforming the union movement

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Women specific union/organisation

• The reproductive role and contribution of women
  workers were not well recognised even among
  unionists in early days.
• The base and voices of women workers association
  are small but critical.
• gender specific labour issues and create social
  discourse

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Self-organizing-gtCooperation -gt Alliance building
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Women self-organised
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Campaign againViolence against Women at workplace
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Loophole in the Law

• Sex Discrimination Ordinance in 1995 (SDO)
  prohibit sexual harassment
• No clause in SDO to prohibit customer conduct
  sexual harassment against service, goods and
  facilities providers
• Employees at service, retail industry are not
  protected by SDO !

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A SURVEY ON SEXUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AT
WORKPLACE IN 2013

• 80 female workers in catering industry
  encountered sexual harassment at workplace

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Sexual violence issuse for DWs
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Outcomes

• - reform in legislation in 2014
• - public attention
• - womens issues to social issues

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Alliance Building
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Womens solidarity and capacity building

• provides more opportunities for leadership
  growth and support for female unionists who
  committed to integrate gender equality at labour
  movement.
• External supports to women unionist in federation

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Factors affecting womens situation and ongoing
battle

• Lack of working hours regulation
• Collective bargaining

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Alliance Building for the rights of part-time
workers
Employment Ordinance only cover those with
continuous employment i.e. being employed for 4
or more consecutive weeks and each week working
for 18 or more hours (4-1-18). There is an
ongoing campaign to amend the law so to cover
part-time and causal workers.